The CBI on Wednesday arrested seven more persons in the case of murder of DSP Ziaul Haque,including four close associates of slain pradhan of Balipur village Nanhey Yadav. They were part of the mob which beat up the DSP when he went to the village after the murder of Nanhey Yadav on the evening of March 2.

A CBI official said they were arrested following information gathered from witnesses to the attack on the DSP. The agency has confirmed that all of them were present in the village on the night of the incident.

Witnesses have told the CBI that the accused had gathered at the pradhans house after his death. They had seen pradhans brother Suresh Yadav asking the assembled men to accompany him for an attack on the houses of Kamta Pal and Guddu Singh,who were later named in Nanhey Yadavs murder case.

The group,led by Suresh and his brothers Phoolchand and Pawan,went to Kamta Pals house and ransacked the rooms and then torched a hutment attached to the house. The group then moved towards Guddu Singhs house,but in the meantime the police arrived and stopped them,the witnesses have said.

About half-an-hour after the arson at Pals house,DSP Ziaul Haque,who was circle officer of Kunda,arrived along with some policemen.

He asked the pradhans family to hand over the body for legal proceedings,but Suresh and his associates started hurling abuses at the police,accusing them of supporting the conspirators behind the pradhans murder.

The DSP tried to pacify them,but Suresh and the others manhandled him and asked him to leave. The DSP,along with the other policemen,were about to move out when someone instigated the mob to attack the police team. The mob then started throwing stones as the policemen tried to run away,sources said.

Suresh,his brothers and the associates chased the CO and caught him about 200 metre from pradhans house. The witnesses said they had seen Suresh,Phoolchand,Pawan and associates Ghanshyam,Ram Asrey,Shivram,Bulle,Chhotey Lal and Munna beating up the CO who was lying on the ground near a well.